Film Previews

“Primetime”

R | 1 hour, 50 minutes
Director: Lance Oppenheim
Writers: Luke Dittrich, Ajon Singh
Stars: Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo

In 2006, “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson) sets out to make television history with his segment on Dateline NBC. At its core, “Primetime” is not an indictment of the show itself, although it expertly recreates the aesthetic of the era to highlight how “To Catch a Predator” not just blurred the line between journalism and entertainment but gleefully stepped over it every chance it got. Rather, the movie is a meditation on the performative nature of the people purporting to be telling the truth.

“The Stunt Driver” 

R | 1 hour, 39 minutes
Director/Writer: Michael Dowse
Stars: Jay Baruchel, Ed Helms, Ben Foster

The film is based on the true story of Montrealer Ken Carter (Jay Baruchel), the “Mad Canadian” stunt driver who tried to jump the Saint Lawrence River in a rocket car in the mid-1970s. Carter’s dream was to end his 30-year career with a big jump, a big paycheck and mega stardom. In the process of accomplishing it, he hired a big sports manager and enlisted the best in rocket car design with the National Film Board of Canada filming a documentary leading up to the event.

“Digger”

R | 2 hours, 8 minutes
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Writers: Sabina Berman, Jez Butterworth, Alexander Dinelaris
Stars: Tom Cruise, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman

“Digger” is an upcoming black comedy directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and starring Tom Cruise as an eccentric oil tycoon who triggers a global ecological disaster. The film, which also features John Goodman, Riz Ahmed and Sandra Hüller, follows the most powerful man in the world as he embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he’s unleashed destroys everything. ♦